Thursday, September 16, 2010

Yoyogi Park in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward is one of Tokyo’s biggest, and is only a few minutes walk away from the youth fashion area of Harajuku. Next to Yoyogi Park is the Meiji Jingu Shrine, Japan’s most famous Shinto shrine.

Yoyogi Park is the site of Japan’s first powered flight, in 1910. It was the site of the athletes’ village for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, as well as the venue of a few of the events, and it became a public park only in 1967.

Yoyogi Park's main attractions are its free entry and sprawling size - making it great for kids to run around in – and, on Sundays, the kaleidoscope of human activity that takes place here: with everything going on from trance parties to '50s street jivers.

I was in Yoyogi Park on Saturday, and took a few snaps of people, flora, and fauna, proving that although it may not be as meticulously landscaped as some other of Tokyo's parks, armed with a keen eye and curiosity, a very stimulating afternoon can be had here.